Yeltsin rests; Primakov sees more duties

Published: Wednesday, October 28, 1998

MOSCOW (AP) - An infirm Russian President Boris Yeltsin sought sanctuary Tuesday at a rest home outside Moscow, retreating further from the political spotlight and leaving the country guessing about the exact nature of his illness.

The Russian leader, who has been an infrequent visitor to the Kremlin in recent months, checked into the Barvikha sanitarium for an open-ended stay to recover from what's been described as high blood pressure and exhaustion.

Yeltsin has played only a marginal role in dealing with the country's painful economic crisis, and some analysts say the country is being guided mostly by Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who has been in office less than two months.

"Ever since he was appointed, Primakov has been acting more as a president than as a chairman of the government," said Nikolai Petrov, an political analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Moscow.

Primakov traveled to Vienna, Austria, on Tuesday to fill in for Yeltsin at a summit between Russia and the European Union. Yeltsin called off the trip Monday due to his illness, the latest in a string of maladies that have dogged him for years.

Primakov and Yeltsin met early Tuesday at the president's country residence outside Moscow, before Yeltsin moved to the sanitarium.

Russian television broadcast pictures of Yeltsin sitting in a chair behind a small table and talking to Primakov. Yeltsin, wearing a blue sweater, was not visibly ill. He nodded in response to Primakov's comments, but their words were not broadcast.

Dr. Michael DeBakey, the American cardiologist who consulted with Yeltsin's doctors before and after his 1996 heart bypass surgery, predicted Tuesday it would take Yeltsin more than a week to bounce back.

"He'll recover from all this and he'll be back at work," DeBakey told The Associated Press from his Houston office.

He said he has not been approached about Yeltsin's latest illness. "I have not had any requests from his medical team to come over," DeBakey said. "I assume that is because the problem is not cardiological."

The president and his doctors say Yeltsin has no crippling illness and will serve out his term which lasts until mid-2000.

Still, few people in Russia believe that Yeltsin, 67, will ever again be the robust, reform-minded leader that he was during his early years in power.

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said Tuesday that Yeltsin's aides were "mocking" Russians by insisting the president had no serious health problems.

"Mr. Yeltsin's inability to work has been obvious to us for quite a long time," Zyuganov told a news conference.

In Washington, State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said Tuesday that Yeltsin's illness should not hamper decisions on economic policy because Primakov has a mandate to move ahead on that issue. He added the United States will continue to work with Yeltsin, as he remains Russia's popularly elected president.

Yeltsin has rarely put in full days at the Kremlin since the spring, spending most of his time at country residences west of the city.

The Barvikha sanitarium, where Yeltsin recuperated from the bypass surgery, has extensive medical facilities, but is not considered a hospital.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Yakushkin said Yeltsin would undergo "a course of restoration treatment," the Interfax news agency reported. The length of his stay depends on the treatment scheduled, he said, without elaborating.

Yeltsin's office said Monday the Russian leader was suffering from an "asthenic condition." Asthenia refers to a lack of physical strength.

The Kremlin has often provided only partial information about Yeltsin's ailments in the past, contributing to a general mood of skepticism and speculation that his condition is worse than announced.

If Yeltsin were to resign, Primakov would succeed him on an interim basis, and new elections would be called within three months.

Yakushkin, the presidential spokesman, said canceling the trip to Austria was a difficult decision for Yeltsin, but he feared his opponents would exploit any public signs of weakness.

"He understands that this visit would be like a litmus test watched by many politicians and, primarily, his foes," Yakushkin said. "He understands quite well that everyone would mostly watch how he walks and talks, not the essence of the talks."

Yeltsin postponed a meeting with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman scheduled for next week in Moscow, Tudjman's spokesman said Tuesday.

Yeltsin has also put off a trip to Malaysia next month. The only trip the Kremlin has confirmed is a visit to India in early December.